■ Basketball
Jayson Williams in court
Former NBA star Jayson Williams can be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge stemming from the shooting death of a hired driver at the player's estate, an appeals court in Newark, New Jersey ruled on Friday. The former New Jersey Nets star had sought to avoid a second trial, contending that it would be double jeopardy. Williams, 38, has remained free on bail since his April 30, 2004 conviction on four charges stemming from a failed attempt to cover up the 2002 fatal shooting at the mansion he owned. The jury acquitted Williams of the most serious offense, aggravated manslaughter, but deadlocked on the charge of reckless manslaughter. Williams' spokeswoman, Judy Smith, said Friday that defense lawyers plan to appeal the ruling. Lawyers for both sides have been gagged by the trial judge. Prosecutor Steven C. Lember, who tried the case, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Prosecutors said Williams, who retired from the Nets in 2000, was handling the gun recklessly when it went off and killed Costas "Gus" Christofi, 55.
■ Horse Racing
Velazquez out of Derby
John Velazquez will miss the Kentucky Derby with a broken shoulder blade and cracked ribs and could be out for as long as five months. Velazquez, who suffered the injuries during a spill at Keeneland, was set to ride Bluegrass Cat in the Derby in two weeks. Owners of the 3-year-old colt were looking for another rider. Velazquez, one of the US' top jockeys who rides regularly for trainer Todd Pletcher, was injured Thursday after riding Up an Octave to victory in the Forerunner Stakes. The colt collapsed and rolled over the rider shortly after crossing the finish line. Up an Octave was euthanized. Casner said it was too early to speculate on who might replace Velazquez, but WinStar racing manager Elliott Walden said Ramon Dominguez was a possibility.
■ Soccer
Zidane may soon retire
Real Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane may announce that he will retire from professional soccer after the World Cup at a press conference next week, Spanish news reports said Saturday. Zidane, who has one year left on his contract at Real Madrid, had already said he would end his career before 2007 without being more specific. "Zidane may announce on Wednesday his retirement," sports daily Marca said Saturday. "The most spectacular player that the Bernabeu stadium has seen in the last years is ready to say goodbye." Zidane joined Real Madrid from Italian club Juventus in 2001. Zidane, who helped France win the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, was named FIFA player of the year three times -- in 1998, 2000 and 2003.
■ Rugby
Brumbies beat Hurricanes
The ACT Brumbies consolidated their semifinal playoff chances in rugby's Super 14 competition in Canberra, Australia yesterday, beating the third-place Wellington Hurricanes 21-16. The win left the Brumbies with 32 points in fourth place, two behind the Hurricanes. The Canterbury Crusaders lead the competition with 42 points while the New South Wales Waratahs, who had a weekend bye, are in second place with 38 points. The ACT now has a five-point buffer over fifth-place Waikato with three matches to play in the round-robin. The Brumbies lost Stephen Larkham and Matt Giteau. Giteau accepted a multi-million-dollar deal to play with Western Force beginning next season.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but